Dictionary Project
Deer Lagoon Grange has been giving Dictionaries to South Whidbey third Grade students in Public, Private, and the Home School arena for several years. This is part of a national program to make sure that all third grade students are able to own their own Dictionary.
This year Dan Abat and Gary Kay distributed nearly 130 Dictionaries to South Whidbey students. Those schools receiving Dictionaries are; South Whidbey Elementary; Whidbey Island Academy; Island Christian Academy; Wellington Day School; and Whidbey Island Waldorf School.
The goal of this program is to assist all students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary. The dictionaries are a gift to each student to use at school and at home for years to come. Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn. This year over two million Dictionaries were given out Nationwide and over 46,000 in Washington.
Deer Lagoon Grange features Falconer
Falconer Steve Layman will be visiting Deer Lagoon Grange and making a presentation, “Falconry; Human and Natural History”. An inside look into the life of a falconer and the craft. He will lecture and demonstrate the role of birds of prey on Whidbey Island and also show domestically raised birds of prey how they are used for commercial application. There will be two of his hawks at the event.
Mr. Layman has over 50 years experience in handling raptors and holds a degree in Zoology. He was featured in an article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the May 2007 issue of Vanity Fair. Here is an excerpt from that article;
“Steve Layman, 59, is a typical hawking bum. He lives on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, with his wife, Kathy, and four children, and to finance his falconry operates a pressure-washing business and acts as a wildlife consultant. As a boy he rushed to finish his daily chores in order to spend every possible moment in the forest. 'I grew up thinking of the outdoors as fascinating and friendly,' he recalls. T.H. White’s classic nonfiction book The Goshawk and an old National Geographic article entitled 'The Sport of Kings' kindled Layman’s passion for falconry."
This family event at will be Saturday May 16th at 1:00 PM at the Grange Hall at 5142 Bayview Road, Langley. Donations are appreciated.
Steve Layman with Peregrine
Sandey Brandon Honored at Grange Month Celebration
The Grange Month Celebration at Deer Lagoon Grange Sunday April 12th featured presentations by the newly chartered South Whidbey FFA chapter, Whidbey Island Conservation District Director Karen Bishop and the recognition of Sandey Brandon as “Citizen of the Year”.
The FFA segment of the program was introduced by Samantha Brown, Washington State FFA Recording Secretary. She is a Island County resident and a recent graduate of Stanwood High School. She introduced Blake Adams, President of the South Whidbey FFA and Chad Felgar the Chapter Advisor. Their presentation related the process of participating in the District FFA competitions and their experiences.
Karen Bishop, Director of the Whidbey Island Conservation District remarked on some of the projects underway within the District and how the District and the Grange collaborate. She commended Deer Lagoon Grange on their efforts and made mention of the Rain Garden project completed by the Grange and the “Outstanding Partner Award” they recently awarded to the Grange.
Karen, commenting on the program said “It was a pleasure to meet with the Grange members yesterday as well as all of the friends of Sandey! I also really enjoyed the presentation from the Chad and the FFA group. Exciting! “
For the portion of the program related to the Citizen of the Year award there were two introductions; one by Diane Divelbess, recent President of the Island County Fair Association and Miss Molly Kay who Sandey Brandon mentored through her years as a young fair volunteer. The presentation of the “Citizen of the Year” award was made by Deer Lagoon Grange Master Tarey Kay. Sandey was recognized for her 23 years of continuous dedication to the Island County Fair which included the last few years and the Fair Manager and her special association with the organizations that supported the Fair.
One might get a grasp of what Sandey means to the community by this excerpt from an autobiographical sketch Sandey wrote recently;
“Work has never been about money for me, but about making a difference and giving my personal best. I love using my talents to benefit small businesses, clubs, individuals and organizations by promoting positive images and providing professional marketing materials to showcase their various passions. Greenbank Farm, Coupeville Community Thanksgiving, Deer Lagoon Grange, Youth Dynamics of Coupeville, Soroptimist International of Coupeville, Financial Women International and a host of private mom ‘n pop operations like Coyote Catering and ALBE are among my personal gallery of island stars.”
Some of the dignitaries in attendance were: Mr. and Mrs. Jim Larsen retired editor of the South Whidbey Record; Grethe Cammermeyer, Washington State National Guard retired; Susan Prescott, President of South Whidbey Tilth and her husband Michael Seraphinoff.
At the end of the program Island County Commissioner Helen Price-Johnson announced that the Commissioners would be issuing a Proclamation announcing that April is “Island County Grange Month”.
Call for Creative Writers
How do “Barns” affect you or your thoughts? Here is an opportunity to express yourself in the statewide Grange sponsored Creative Writing Contest for 2015. This contest is about writing on the subject of “Barns”, the writing format styles are: “POETRY; metered and free verse”, “SHORT STORIES”, and “ESSAYS’.
Family Living & Lecturer's Competition
The Granges of Island County invite you to enter in the following competitions. Baking, Candy, Food Preservation, Needlework, Quilts, Sewing, Arts & Crafts and Photography. These competitions are open to both Grangers and non-Grangers. Non-members will be sponsored by a local Grange.
Competition Rules & Categories:
Baking, Candy, Food Preservation, Needlework, Quilts, Sewing
Entries will be accepted between NOON and 5:00PM Friday April 10 and between 9:00AM and 10:AM Saturday April 11 at Deer Lagoon Grange, 5142 Bayview Road, Langley or by special arrangement with the contest Coordinator. Judging will take place starting at 11:00AM. Entries will be open to view at 2:00PM Saturday.
Entries will be accepted between 5:00PM and 9:00PM Friday April 10 and between 9:00AM and 10:AM Saturday April 11 at Deer Lagoon Grange, 5142 Bayview Road, Langley or by special arrangement with the contest Coordinator. Judging will take place starting at 11:00AM. Entries will be open to view at 2:00PM Saturday. For more detail; contact the event coordinator Gary Kay 360-341-2008
National Grange Quilt Block Contest
The National Grange Quilt block contest is a contest that we are promoting to celebrate the 150th
Anniversary of the National Grange in 2016. The idea behind the contest is to create a vehicle for our
members to share their creative talents.
The period of the contest runs from January 1, 2015 until September 15, 2015 deadline for
submissions is September 30, 2015 to the National Lecturer: James Tetreault 19 Parker Street
Winchester NH 03470.
